Process of producing hydrogen carbid.



110. 770,214. PATENTBD s E-PT. 13, .1904.

- 11s. BLACKMORB. PROCESS 01 PRODUCIN-G HYDROGEN 01313.11).

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 16; 1901..'-

No MODELE IlNiTnn STATES Patented September 13, 1904.

PATENT Trios.,

PROCESS OF PRODUCING HYDROGEN CARBID.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 770,214, dated September 13, 1904,

Application filed February 16, 1901. Serial N0! 47,675. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, HENRY SPENCER BLACK- MoRE,a citizen of the United States, residing at 206 South Ninth avenue, Mount Vernon, in the county of Vifestchester and State of N ew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Producing Hydrogen Oarbid; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art .to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to produce hydrogen carbids by chemical means and in such a manner as to economize the cost of production as found hitherto; and it consists in bringing a gaseous or vaporous sulphalkyl, commonly known as sulfo -hydrocarbon, such as is found contaminating sulfurous petroleum, in contact with iron carbid in a heated state.

In carrying-out my invention on a practical basis I proceed as follows: I take iron carbid, break the same in small pieces, place it in a retort, and heat it to a bright red. I then pass through the retort a stream of vaporous or gaseous sulph-alkyl or body containing the same, such as sulfurous petroleum, (Lima oil.) By this means the sulfur is taken up by the iron and the carbon substituted therefor, producing hydrocarbons. In this Way the disagreeable sulph-alkyl in crude petroleum can be decomposed, the sulfur separating in the form of iron suliid and the hydrocarbons produced thereby rendering the sulfurous petroleum available for enriching Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section O. Through the heads B passes the inletf pipe D, provided at its inner end with a deflector e. Each retort A is provided at or near the end closed by the head B with a suitable outlet-pipe it, controlled by valves I, said pipes communicating with a common outlet K. Retorts A are preferably heated by means of the gas-burners L, which are so arranged as to throw the flame directly under the retorts, whereby the temperature may be regulated and maintained uniformly.

In employing the apparatus described in the production of acetylene (C2i-I2) and ethylene (OQHT) I fill the retorts A with granulated iron carbid about two inches deep over the entire bottom, then close the retorts, and gradually heat the same by means of the burners L to about 360O Fahrenheit. I then introduce under ordinary atmospheric pressure the sulph-alkyl methyl suliid (C21-IGS) into the retort A through the inlet-pipe D, which is thrown upon the surface of the heated carbid bythe extended depending spreader or deflector e. As this sulph-alkyl passes over the heated iron carbid the iron absorbs the sulfur therefrom, replacing the same with carbon, as shown in the following chemical formula or equation, and elevating the temperature of the ingredients to a point approaching bright redness by the internal liberation of heat or heat of reaction:

lThe acetylene and ethylene thus produced IOO hydrocarbons, as aforesaid. It is also obvious that I can employ any other metallic carbid in place of the iron carbid aforesaid, so long as the sulfur of the sulph-alkyl has greater affinity for the base of the carbid thanl it has for the alkyl radical with which it is combined.

' The term fsulphfalkyl` employed .in vthis specification and claims relates to sulfur-substitution products of yhydrocarbons or substances containing carbon, sulfur, and hydro# gen and is intended to include mercaptans as well'. as sulph-alkyls 0erse, the chief object.

of the process being to abstract the sulfur constituent ,therefrom and substitute for the same an equivalent of carbon, thus transforming the sulfo-hydrocarbons, which have characteristic disagreeable odor, into hydro- .carbons which burn with; greater luminosity. The term metallic carbid as -employed in this specification and `claimsrelates to a compound or union of carbon with'a metal, be it normal carbid or acetylid and isf not intended to includey cast-iron, the carbon compositionofwhi'ch is questionable-and never, so far as is known, reaches nine percent. of the yiron present, and'which castiron, Iin View of itslow-carbon content, is -impracticablefor the purpose of producing hydrogen carbid, as herein-set' forth.

f Oneway in which I-can -produce iron-carbid capable-of being employed in my process consists; in calcining' anhydrous byferrocyanid of potassium inl the'absenceof air. The reaction whichftakesplacemay be illustrated by the following chemicalfformula or-equation:

The Acarbid thus produced'may' be separated lfrom the cya-nid by treatment'with water,

A'the carbid beingzinsoluble. 'This reaction'is well knownand 'can be found vin anyA standard work -on chemistry.

I- amaware Athat iron-has beenemployed `to remove substances having a disagreeable A-odor from sulfurous petroleum;3 but? Ait hasnotl as vyetbeen determined to acert'ainty 1that' 'the carbon content yin lthe ironl is an actual yiron carbid en masse-or `that itfdoes not -consist of free f carbon v or' normal -i ron carbiddissolved `or'oc'cluded'in-metall1c-iron in certain small percentages. Sd-far'as' 1s knowni-however,

cast-iron, which is the richest; contains 1 less than nine per centrof-a'ctual combined carbon. I refer tolthis fact for the purpose of disclaiming the use=of ordinary iron .which may inci- ,dentally contain small and ineffective quantilic carbid it noti-being evident that thesmall proportion of combinedcarbon in proportion tov the `iron` presentin ordinary iron can be practically employed Ifor thepurpose of making hydrogen carbid in available quantities for practical use.

I It is well known that sulfurous-petroleums, such as Lima oil, have not been available for the purpose of producing illuminating-gas for the reason that thepresence of sulfur produces deleterious effects. 'By employing my process in connection with the ordinary process for producing oil-gas or enriching watergas the ordinary sulfurous petroleumsmay be substituted for the non-sulfurous variety,

Vwith the advantage that the abstraction. of sulfur by my process augmentsthe remaining hydrocarbons of the sulfurous petroleum by supplying thereto a hydrocarbon capable of producing increased lumino'sity,-so=lthat instead'of 'the-sulfurous' petroleums' being ex- A cludedforthepurposeshere mentioneditnow becomes available Aby employing my process,

with the advantage 4of producing :a gas of 'the sulfur abstracted,whilein my process the hydrocarbons-left after'ithe abstraction of the sulfurous content of 'sulfurous petroleumare augmented orfincreased in value-to the extent f `'the substitutiouof hydrocarbons for the sulfur content removed therebyfnotonly removing tthe sulfur Witlrpuriicationof thepe- IOO troleum, but simultaneously producing 4 an i equivalent of hydrocarbon -as a substitution `for the sulfur eliminated.

l The term free as employed in this speci- '-ficationand claims has reference 'to metallic --carloid -freefrom occludlng or surrounding metals Aor metallic ingredients-which would tendftoretard the action of the carbid by preventing the sulfo-hydroca'rbons from coming in juxtaposition with the carbid, such as would be the case of iron .-carbid dissolved or occluded in metallic-iron as-found'inordinary forms of cast-.iron or in kwhich carbid Athe metal exists .in'fsucha high stateofproportion, atomicity,

orquantivalencethat'the carbon content falls vvbelownine percent. of; the combined :ingredient,*in which casesv the carbids are practically inoperative -with relation to myprocess. f It is--obvious4 that compositions containing 4metallic carbids in which the carbon content lof lthe composition contains at least nine per cent. of carbon.

Ha'vmgnow described my inventlon, what IIO I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The process of producing hydrogen carbid which consists in exposing a metallic carbid containing at least nine per cent. carbon to the action of a sulfo-hydrocarbon the sulfur content of which has greater aiiinity for the base of the carbid than it has for the hydrocarbon radical with which it is combined.

2. The process of producing hydrogen carbid which consists in performing a double reaction between a heated metallic carbid containing at least nine per cent. carbon and a sulfo-hydrocarbon.

3. The process of producing hydrogen carbid which consists in subjecting a metallic carbid containing at least nine per cent. carbon to the action of a gaseous compound containing a sulfo-hydrocarbon while the mixture is in a heated condition.

4. The process of producing hydrogen carbid which consists in exposing a iiuid compound of hydrogen, carbon, and sulfur, to the action of a metallic carbid containing at least nine per cent. carbon, the metallic base of which has greater afnity for the sulfur content of the compound employed than the sulfur content has for its combined constituents.

5. The process of producing hydrogen carbid which consists in heating iron carbid containing at least nine per cent. of combined carbon, and exposing it to the action of a gaseous compound containing a sulfo-hydrocarbon the sulfur of which has greater ailnity fo r the metallic base of the carbid than it has for the hydrocarbon radical with which it is combined.

6. The process of producing hydrogen car-- bid which consists in heating a metallic carbid containing at least nine per cent. of combined carbon and exposing it to the action of sulfurous petroleum or so-called Lima oil, substantially as described.

7 The process of producing hydrogen carbid which consists in exposing a free metallic carbid containing at least nine per cent. carbon to the action of a sulfo-hydrocarbon at a reacting temperature.

8. The process of producing hydrogen carbid which consists in exposing a composition containing metallic carbid,said carbid containing at least nine per cent. of carbon, to the action of a sulfohydrocarbon at a reacting temperature. I

In testimony whereoil I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY S. BLACKMORE.

Witnesses:

H. N. JENKINS, WARREN C. STONE. 

